What is a global health emergency?
How is the decision to announce it?
What are the consequences of this announcement?
What are the most prominent cases in which the World Health Organization declared a health emergency?
Defining a health emergency
A public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) is defined as an “exceptional event that is identified as posing a potential public health emergency in other countries due to the international spread of disease, and that may require a coordinated international response.” to the World Health Organization.
The definition of a health emergency refers to a situation that is:
Dangerous, sudden, unusual or unexpected.
It has public health implications that extend beyond the national borders of the affected country.
It may require immediate international action.
How is the decision to declare a global health emergency made?
The WHO's Emergency Committee is made up of international experts who provide technical advice to the WHO's Director-General on any "public health emergency of international concern" (PHEIC), according to the organization itself.
The committee presents its opinions on the following:
The event constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.
The temporary recommendations that a country experiencing an emergency of international concern should follow, or that other countries should follow to prevent or limit the spread of the disease at the international level, and to avoid undue interference in international travel and trade.
End a public health emergency of international concern.
The final decision rests with the Director-General of the World Health Organization on declaring a public health emergency of international concern and temporary recommendations issued to address the situation.
The Director-General makes his decision after consulting emergency committees, information provided by States Parties and scientific experts, an assessment of risks related to human health and the international spread of disease, and the extent of interference with international travel.
Under the International Health Regulations (2005), temporary recommendations automatically expire 3 months after their issuance.
Therefore, emergency committees meet at least every 3 months;
To review the epidemiological situation and decide whether the event in question continues to constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, and whether changes should be made to the provisional recommendations.
What are the procedures for declaring a state of health emergency?
The declaration of a global emergency leads to recommendations for all countries aimed at preventing or limiting the spread of disease across borders, while avoiding unnecessary interference with trade and travel.
The declaration includes interim recommendations for national health authorities around the world, including intensifying monitoring, preparedness and containment measures.
For example, with the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) declared a health emergency of international concern, the following has been done:
Accelerate the development of vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics.
Combating the spread of rumors and misinformation.
Review preparedness plans, identify gaps, and assess the resources needed to identify, isolate and care for cases and prevent transmission.
With the new #coronavirus declared a health emergency of international concern, we must:
– Accelerate the development of vaccines, treatments and diagnostics;
Combating the spread of rumors and misinformation.
Review preparedness plans, identify gaps, and assess resources for case identification, isolation, care and transmission prevention”
DrTedros@pic.twitter.com/6maFQ8midV
— WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO) (@WHOEMRO) January 30, 2020
Cases where a global health emergency has been declared
The H1N1 swine flu epidemic on April 25, 2009.
Polio on May 5, 2014.
Ebola virus in West Africa on August 8, 2014.
Zika virus epidemic on February 1, 2016.
Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on July 17, 2019.
COVID-19 pandemic on January 30, 2020.
Monkeypox on July 23, 2022.
Degrees of disease spread
1- outbreak
In which there is a small increase in the number of injuries, but it is unusual.
For example, if it used to be that 10 cases of diarrhea were recorded in a particular area per day, and then the number rose to 20, then this is classified as an outbreak.
The same is the case if suddenly there are infections with a disease that did not exist.
Therefore, when Corona disease began to spread in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, it was classified as an outbreak.
As soon as the health authorities discover an outbreak of a disease, they begin an investigation to determine the number of infected people, in order to find out the best way to contain this outbreak and prevent its expansion.
2- Epidemic
It is defined as an outbreak in a larger geographical area, which may be confined to one or a few countries.
And the Corona virus has shifted from the level of a local outbreak in Wuhan to the level of an epidemic in a large geographical area, including China.
Also, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) formed an epidemic in 2002 and 2003, as the disease appeared in Guangdong Province in southern China, and caused more than 8,000 injuries, and more than 800 deaths, nearly 350 of them in China.
3- Pandemic
It is the global spread of a new disease that includes many countries.
Some point out that the term "pandemic" also means that the disease that defies control, and this explains its spread internationally and not confined to one country.
The definition of a pandemic also indicates a political aspect, by conveying a message to governments and organizations around the world, that the disease has economic, political and social repercussions on a global scale.
The announcement of a pandemic is an unusual event, and even the “SARS” virus, which belongs to the family of coronaviruses to which Corona belongs, was not classified as a “pandemic”, but rather remained at the level of an “epidemic”.
The stages of the development of the outbreak and the warning of the pandemic
There is a World Health Organization pandemic alert system, which includes the following stages:
Phase 1
: The discovery of a virus in animals with no known infections in humans.
Stage 2
: An animal virus infects humans.
Stage 3
: The presence of sporadic cases or small groups of the disease in humans, or if the disease is spreading from one person to another, but in a limited extent that is not sufficient to cause a community-wide outbreak of the disease.
Stage 4
: When the disease spreads from one person to another and spreads at the community level.
Stage 5
: When the disease spreads among humans in more than one country in a close geographical area, (for example, the Middle East, North Africa, or Europe...).
Stage 6
: The disease has spread to another country in a different geographical area.
Although there is no clear definition of the stage at which the health emergency is declared, that is usually with the fifth stage, when the spread becomes in more than one country.